The 17 best-governed countries in the world

The Legatum Institute, a policy research group, has released its annual "Global Prosperity Index," a major survey that ranks countries based on factors including national wealth, education levels, and safety.

One key factor the survey considers is governance, which is broken down into three categories: effective governance, democracy and political participation, and the rule of law. Legatum measured these variables by considering things like voter turnout, legislative independence, and the number of women in parliament.

While European countries dominate the list, there is also room for a handful of countries on the other side of the Atlantic.

Take a look at the countries that made the top of the list.